Manchester United legend Nemanja Vidic has revealed that his and Patrice Evra's first game in English football was a horror show that saw the pair hooked at half-time.
Sir Alex Ferguson brought the duo to United in January 2006, with Vidic joining from Sparktak Moscow, via winning the Serbian league with Red Star Belgrade, and Evra coming from Monaco, after making over 200 appearances in French football.
Despite their experience in other countries Vidic has shared how the pair struggled to acclimatise to English football initially, with the first game sticking out in particular.
"Patrice and I came to United together and there’s a funny story," the Serbian told Stadium Astro.
"We were preparing to play in the Premier League, we were with Rene Meulensteen. He was the coach of the under-21s and Fergie told us to play with them just to have a match.
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“We needed to get some form as we could not play our first match as a Premier League one. So we said OK but we weren’t happy to play under-21s."
“After 45 minutes, Rene told me and Patrice to have a shower."
“We did not play well.
“He was really shocked. Patrice and I looked at each other and said ‘wow’.”
Despite the poor start the pair went on to become United legends as both stayed for eight-and-a-half-years and Vidic was eventually made the captain.
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During their spell they both made over 300 appearances, won five Premier League titles and the Champions League.
But it took time for them to adapt and Vidic has also revealed on what they struggled with upon first moving to Manchester.
"We really struggled to adapt to playing football always forward," the 37-year-old said.
"When you play European football, you always play sideways, around. But in England it’s always forward and physical.
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"Even at under-21s, you think it’s a foul but the referee tells you to keep playing.
“So that was really the biggest problem to our game in the first six months but I adapted.
“Fergie had the patience to wait for us and the players helped us through a difficult time.”
